The effects of different treatment activities on functional fine motor coordination in adults with brain injury.

OBJECTIVES: Occupational therapists frequently work to improve the fine motor coordination skills of adults who have dexterity deficits secondary to brain injury. Most therapists use a combination of tabletop and functional activities to foster improved coordination in these clients. This study examined the effects of puzzle construction and kitchen activities on fine motor coordination in a group of 45 men with brain injury, as measured by pretest and posttest performance on two subtests of the Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function.
METHOD: Subjects were randomly assigned to either a parquetry block assembly group (n = 22) or a meal preparation group (n = 23).
RESULTS: Subjects in the functional meal preparation group showed significantly greater improvement in dominant-band dexterity for picking up small objects than subjects in the tabletop puzzle activity group. Other coordination test results were comparable for the two treatment groups.
CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that functional activities may be better than tabletop activities for fine motor coordination training with this population.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes